)
Markets closed the first day of the September series on a strong note tracking gains among the Asian peers on the back of robust US GDP data. Meanwhile, the investors cheer the fading prospects of an early interest rate hike by the US Fed.
Provisionally, the Sensex closed 139 points higher at 26,371 levels and the Nifty surged 51 points to end at 8,000 levels.
___________________
(updated at 2:25 PM)
The markets are trading firm this afternoon, on the back of an extended rally across Asia, with IT, oil and metal stocks leading the rally. However, the benchmark indices have pared some of their gains due to a subdued opening in Europe.
The sentiment has been buoyed by the ebbing of volatility worldwide following the Black Monday and the dimming prospect of a rate hike by the Fed in September. The government’s announcement of the ambitious Smart City project, involving investments of Rs 48,000 crore for development of 100 smart cities, seems to have also buoyed the sentiment in today's session.
At 2.25 PM, the Sensex was up 188 points or 0.7% at 26,419 and the Nifty was up 58 points at 8007.
The broader markets, including the midcap and smallcap indices were marginally in the green at 10,750 and 11,015 respectively.
The market breadth is positive. Out of 2,662 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1,405 advancing stocks as against 1,149 declines.
On the global front, Asian shares rallied further on Friday after firm US economic data cheered the mood of the investors. Chinese stocks rising for the second day, with Shanghai Composite surging nearly 5%. However, the European markets opened marginally in the negative due to the onset of caution post the gains witnesed in the previous session.
RUPEE
The rupee continued to trade weak against the US dollar, down 7 paise at 66.11, following fresh demand for the US currency from banks and importers on the back of higher dollar overseas. The rupee has been trading in a narrow range of 66.02 to 66.18 per dollar today.
SECTORS AND STOCKS
All the BSE sectoral indices are in the green, with the exception of the conmsumer durables space. The IT, oil and metal indices are leading the rally, with gains of around 1% each.
ONGC has soared by more than 5% at Rs 242 to top the gainer's list on the BSE and give a boost to the oil sector after oil prices rebounded by more than 10% on Thursday, posting their biggest one-day rally in over six years following a report that Venezuela asked the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to hold an emergency meeting.
The metal pack has also firmed up due to a rebound in commodity prices, with Vedanta, Hindalco and Tata Steel gaining 1-4% each.
The IT sector is also in the limelight, with Infosys and Wipro gaining more than 1% each on the BSE.
Among other shares, logistics companies are trading higher for third straight day on hopes that the government is considering reconvening Parliament to make another attempt to pass the Goods and Services Tax (GST). VRL Logistics, Transport Corporation of India, Patel Integrated Logistics, Gati,Sical Logistics, Snowman Logistics and Allcargo Logistics are up over 5% each.
On the other hand, HDFC is witnessing profit-booking after zooming 8% in the previous session. The financial major has shed around 1% to top the loser's list on the BSE. Pharma stocks are also seeing some profit-booking, with Sun Pharma and Lupin shedding around 1% each in late-noon trades.
